![]() It became normal for shrines to be accompanied by temples in mixed complexes called jingū-ji ( 神宮寺, lit. The successive development of shinbutsu-shūgō (syncretism of Buddhism and kami worship) and of the honji suijaku theory brought to the almost complete fusion of kami worship and Buddhism. A Buddhist-style gate ( karamon) at Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū With the arrival of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century, shrines were subjected to its influence and adopted both the concept of permanent structures and the architecture of Buddhist temples. ![]() Shrines enshrining local kami existed long before the arrival of Buddhism, but they consisted either of demarcated land areas without any building or of temporary shrines, erected when needed. The two religions coexist due to increased popularity of religions and the birth of new religions. Many visitors visit Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines for similar reasons such as prayer and for luck. It is in fact normal for a temple to have been also a shrine and in architectural terms, obvious differences between the two are therefore few, so much so that often only a specialist can see them. When Shintoism first encountered Buddhism it became more interpretive as it did not try to explain the universe as Buddhism sometimes tried to. The reason for the great structural resemblances between the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines lies in their common history. The architectural elements of a Buddhist temple are meant to embody themes and teachings of Buddhism. If many people are involved in a ceremony, it will assume a festive character and will be held outdoors. Religious mass gatherings do not take place with regularity as with Christian religions and are in any event not held inside the temple. There are specialized buildings for certain rites, but these are usually open only to a limited number of participants. Unlike a Christian church, a temple is also a monastery. Like a shrine, a Buddhist temple is not primarily a place of worship: its most important buildings are used for the safekeeping of sacred objects (the honzon, equivalent to a shrine's shintai) and are not accessible to worshipers. Similarities between temples and shrines are also functional. Honden of the Zennyo Ryūō shrine, inside a Shingon temple in Kyoto Others – for example, Tanzan Shrine in Nara – may even have a pagoda. Conversely, some shrines make use of incense or have a shōrō belltower. Many temples have a temizuya and komainu, like a shrine. Some shrines, for example Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū, have a Buddhist-style main gate called sōmon. Both Torii and rōmon mark the entrance to a shrine as well as temples although torii is associated with Shinto and Romon is associated with Buddhism. In Japan, Buddhist temples co-exist with Shinto shrines and both share the basic features of Japanese traditional architecture. Buddhist and Shinto structures A torii at the entrance of Shitennō-ji, a Buddhist temple in Osaka ![]() These words are apparently derived from the Aramaic word for "Monastery" dērā/ dairā/ dēr (from the root dwr "to live together"), rather than from the unrelated and later Indian word for monastery vihara and may have been transmitted by the first Central Asian translators of Buddhist scriptures, such as An Shigao or Lokaksema. The Japanese word for a Buddhist temple Tera ( 寺) was anciently also written phonetically 天良, tera and is cognate with the Modern Korean Chǒl from Middle Korean Tiel, the Jurchen Taira and the reconstructed Old Chinese * dɘiaʁ, all meaning "Buddhist Monastery". Such famous temples as Kiyomizu-dera, Enryaku-ji and Kōtoku-in are temples which use the described naming pattern. Another ending, -in ( 院), is normally used to refer to minor temples. The Japanese word for a Buddhist monastery is tera ( 寺) ( kun reading) and the same kanji also has the pronunciation ji ( on reading), so that temple names frequently end in -dera or -ji. ![]() The shogunates or leaders of Japan have made it a priority to update and rebuild Buddhist temples since the Momoyama period. Places of worship for Japanese Buddhists Higashi Hongan-ji in Kyotoīuddhist temples or Buddhist monasteries together with Shinto shrines, are considered to be amongst the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan. ![]()
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